My Thai family want to stay at my house, what should I do?

Reader’s E-mail:

My Thai wife want her family to come and stay at my house in Hua Hin. She keeps on asking. I don’t like having guests and I don’t want her family to come and stay. What can I do?

Reply from Thailand Info

That’s a tough one. Not many of the ex-pats I know in Thailand like having their Thai family come to stay and you aren’t alone in this problem.

Set Conditions

The best way to deal with it is to let them come but set conditions on the stay happening.

Key Questions

What you need to do is to get your wife to give a very specific answer to some key questions:

How long will they stay?

How many people are coming?

Where will they sleep?

What will you be expected to provide for them?

Reach an Agreement

The thing to do is to set your boundaries and to get a commitment from your wife as to the details of the stay. This doesn’t guarantee you success but does relieve you (hopefully) of the burden of uncertainty over what will happen when the family do come. You have the right to complain if the agreement is broken. Perhaps a visit to another part of Thailand might be an idea if it all gets too much for you – perhaps satisfy that burning desire of yours to see the Bridge over the River Kwai for example.